Nate Cole, Starving Artist?

So, wonder of wonders: while poking around the nether regions of Google pics, attempting to convince my wife that Chace Crawford of Gossip Girl looked strikingly similar to another Nate (the one from the deceased Christian boy band Plus One), I found something. Obviously, times have changed for Nate Cole. Plus One having folded for good in 2004, he is currently residing in California, fronting the indie band Castledoor. Shockingly, that’s not paying the bills quite like touring with Plus One did: I found him here, working as an office assistant in an architectural firm with the classic CCM-industry pop-star resume: straight to the top at 17, straight to the ditch by 25.

But don’t take this as a slight to the most popular member of Plus One. It would appear that he’s working backward in the music scene: having started at the top, he’s now working on the starving musician stage of his career, laboring days in an office and nights playing in a small indie band. Frankly, I love it. He’s successfully survived a fall from the top tier and avoided degrading himself—and his music—with embarrassing attempts to reclaim the spotlight. In fact, it perfectly reflects his personal claims on his MySpace: “I wanna be in the most independent band ever.” Looks like he's doing pretty well with that.